Doctor’s practice files Chapter 11

Not even medicine can escape the wounds of the recession.

Commonwealth Cancer Institute, a radiology clinic on Marshall Street in Richmond, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday.

It’s the first medical practice to file for bankruptcy protection in the Richmond district of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court since the recession began. Read more

Cemetery goes under; two other companies file bankruptcy

Business bankruptcies skyrocketed this week.

Three businesses have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the past few days: a cemetery outside Petersburg, a business that ran two gas stations and an excavation company in Chesterfield.

Dinwiddie Memorial Park, which lists Ronald Hess as the president, owes between $500,000 and $1 million. Read more

Tides turning in race for campaign cash

Richmond-based companies and business associations gave more to Democrat Creigh Deeds than to Republican Bob McDonnell during the most recent round of fund-raising.

Deeds raised $152,500 between July 1 and August 31 from Richmond area businesses and groups. McDonnell raised $120,000 from area businesses and groups, falling behind Deeds for the first time since the campaign started.

But McDonnell still tops Deeds in the overall race for cash, $561,604 to $326,220. Read more

Downtown plan poses hurdle for Echo Harbour

On Monday, Richmond City Council unanimously approved final amendments to the downtown master plan, with language that works against the developers of a $160 million proposed mixed-use project on the riverfront.

The final plan designates the site of the proposed Echo Harbour as an “Urban Center Area,” which calls for building heights of four to six stories. Read more

Monday Q&A: Starting a law firm with 30 days notice

Even an advanced degree can’t ward off a pink slip. But a law degree may help local lawyers deliberate (and certainly footnote) all the options.

Eric Perkins started working at Hirschler Fleischer right after finishing law school. That was more than 10 years ago. But in March he was laid off. So he weighed the options and started his own firm focusing on business transactions.  Being in business now for himself gives him new insight into the sorts of challenges his clients face. And down the road that may make him even better at his job.

RBS chatted with Perkins about how he got started, and what it’s like to be on his own after more than a decade with a big firm. Read more

Law firm layoff rumors run rampant, but bark worse than bite

Urban myths always spread the same way. And with 4,030 lawyers practicing in Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield, the local legal scene is about the size of a big high school, which makes the rumor mill that much fiercer. Read more

Are you ready to start talking franchise?

It takes two to do the franchise tango.

First there’s the franchisor. He’s typically the entrepreneur that built a company from scratch. He also generally likes taking risks, said Eric Perkins, a business attorney at Hirschler Fleischer. The franchisee, on the other hand, is usually a “straight-A student and likes to learn a system and play along with the rules.” Read more